So on Monday afternoon I was in Borders books next door to Outback before my shift. I stumbled upon Curious New England: The Unconventional Traveler's Guide to Eccentric Destinations . This book immediately piqued my interest. I started flipping through it. The places the book discribed were absolutely incredible, things like a three story outhouse to a Masonic lodge, the Tom Thumb memorial museum, the worlds largest umbrella slip cover museum, things like that. I bought the book immediately.
After work that night I began going through the Maine entries. Large towns like Portland, Augusta and Bangor only had two or three entries a piece. I was kind of disapointed. And then I stumbled onto Wiscassett, Maine. Wiscassett Maine is only probably a village of about 1500 people tops. And there is this book of curious weird stuff were 4 entries, more than any other place in all of Maine.
Wiscassett has many things to boast about. An eccentric antique dealer named Terry Lewis had a middle kingdom Egyptian mummy on display in his shops foyer. This mummy has been the subject of considerably controversy in the past years as the mummy has threatened to leave Mr. Lewis's possession.
Beyond the 4000 year old mummy small Wiscassett Maine had several other dubious bragging rights. Wiscassett holds claim to the largest single collection of pre-electrical mechanical music making devices. THis sounds strange, and believe me it is bizaare. Thirdly, the quaint picturesque town of Wiscassett can claim to have the best preserved collection of jail grafitti dating from two centuries ago on in the entire Atlantic seaboard.
At this point in the reading of this book I was two parts excited and one part disturbed. How do towns come to be like this? I've read every horror story that HP Lovecraft ever wrote, and almost every one of them is set in fictional New England towns just like this.
So tuesday morning Seth and I set out on this expedition. Wiscassett was a little over an hour away. We got there by 10:30 after a brief stop at a roadside antique shop. When we got to Terry Lewis's Antique store I noticed two things. First, there was the amazing amount of clutter in the front yard. It resembled more of an excretion of rusted nautica than anything else. Second thier was a single board nailed across the front door frame where someone had splintered the frame trying to force the dead bolt. On that conspicuous board was a not informing Seth and I that Terry Lewis had been injured "overseas" over the winter and wwould open the shop hopefully in May. Two things. For one it's well into June and for another what is a man that has been fighting with the Egyptian Government and US customs over his right to own this mummy doing overseas? I have no idea. A lady next door to Mr. Lewis' shop informed me that she hasn't seen hide nor hair of Mr Lewis.
We spent the next couple hours shopping at some other antique shops were i got some very cool stuff. After lunch Seth and I decided to brave the Musical Wonder House in all its glory.
As we walked into the building we were greeted by these wall to wall music machines. Most of these being some type of faux-furniture pieces (grandfather clocks, china hutches, dressers, tables, etc) They all looked very old. We checked out this admissions plaque. To tour the "hallway" was $2, the "half basement" was $8, the "full basement" was $20, and the grand, guided, "Whole house tour" was $30. I will never pay $30 for this tour but not because of the price (which is ridiculous) but because it would mean looking at wall to wall "muscial wonders" (which is frightening).
As Seth and I were bemusedly looking at this price list a man anywhere from 80 to 120 year of age shuffled towards us with the help of his cain. He was Russian. His name is Danilo Konvalinka. Seth said we'll take two of the two dollar tours. He took our four dollars and carefully punched two "admit one" tickets and handed them to us. Seth asked old Danilo where the "hallway" was, he replied, "you're eeein it."
Making the most of our 2 dollars we began to closely examine the music machines. Most of them were from around the turn of the last century. With the help of a quarter the machines would play about 30 second of famous symhonies and popular songs from 150 years ago on bells that sounded vaguely like the toy xylophone we used to play with in nursery at church.
I began to notice that alongside these music machines pictures adorned the wall of Danilo and his eastern European family.We see Danilo in all the stages of late middle to old age of the last 40 years of his life. We see Danilo with his sons, the body doubles for the 1980 USSR gymnastics team. We even get to see Danilo with his long departed, fondly remebered wife.
It turns out that Donilo has been running his musical wonder house for well over 40 years now.
WHAT IS UP WITH THIS TOWN?
How can two people such as Terry Lewis: International Man of Mystery and Danilo Konvalinka the mystical music man live in a town of 1500? What is Wiscassett?
no comments!how can that be!where is everyone!this is great stuff!KEEP IT COMING MATT, YOUR DAD AND I WAIT WITH BATED BREATH FOR EACH INSTALLMENT.
love,
your very supportive parents
Ha! For a sec, I thought the mummy itself was trying to leave. Man, I gotta find a book like that for Louisiana! That is too marvy!!!
Posted by: Jeannette at June 11, 2003 09:10 PMLOL...I wish I'd read this before our trip to ME.. We had the same bizaro experience as you guys only 2 weeks later.. You were far more sporting than the 4 of us.. My husband was out the door in a flash... We all agreed it was a 10 on the creepy factor.. As we drove away we were humming the theme to the Adams Family TV show...
Posted by: Juliana Illari at July 8, 2003 11:17 AMHello,
I just read your review of our museum, The Musical Wonder House, which just completed its 40th Season of presenting restored mechanical musical instruments to the public.
Danilo Konvalinka is an Austrian, not a Russian, and he's only half-owner of the collection, at this point. His wife (Lois) and I were the co-founders, in '62. She and I left the operation in 1986, with my retaining 1/2 interest in the collection, something that I began before moving to Maine, in the early 'Sixties.
You might want to check out this Webpage -
http://www.wiscassset.net/artcraft/mwh.htm ... and then ours, for Player-Piano rolls (since we are around the corner in a business/residence):
http://wiscasset.nnei.net/artcraft/
Some of the instruments there are one of a kind, and there is NO collection of this magnitude or condition, anywhere else, which is why so many foreigners travel to the Coast of Maine to experience some of these 18th, 19th and early 20th Century musical sounds.
When Lois, Danilo and I ran the museum - for almost a 1/4 of a Century - we had structured tours and low prices, saving the choice instruments (which wear, with use) for our evening concerts - or special tours. It was a different place, until that year of transition ... but the collection is stellar, in any case.
Regards and I hope this 'updates' your posting ...
(signed) Douglas Henderson
[My 52nd year of creating/publishing VIRTUOSO player rolls]
ARTCRAFT Music Rolls, Wiscasset, ME 04578 USA
What a charming review of The Musical Wonder House. Mr Konvalinka is 72 not 80 - 120, but he did suffer a stroke a little while ago so I suppose it's OK to make fun of him. He is Austrian, his wife is very much alive and they never had any children. The furniture pieces are all authentic, not "faux" and many are historically significant, such as the original bedroom suite owned by the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and presented to the Konvalinka family after the Archduke's assassination. For many a visit to this unique and well respected collection is an incredible experience; for others a stop at Funtown or the Waterslide in Scarboro might be more appropriate, or even a visit to the local McDonalds with it's attached playground.
Posted by: Roger at February 10, 2004 05:31 PMRoger's February 10 post reminded me why so many folks find New Englanders frequently so annoying. Awkward attempts at class consciousness by people who have none are unseemly.
Posted by: SK at February 11, 2004 08:46 AMDear Matt,
I just finished reading your article about your visit to Maine, and your visit at the Musical Wonder House. Later was of the most interest to me. I am going to be honest with you, I am absolutely amazed. What a wonderful work you have done! Work that shows how big an IDIOT you are, well, more like a MORON. It is astonishing to know how much you can write without doing any basic research or having any knowledge on the subject. Your story is full of false and incorrect information, and therefore I would like to ask, insist that you remove this article from the Internet. Just a few things that you, all-knowing wannabe writer, misrepresented in your story:
To begin with, first, Mr. Konvalinka is 73 years of age, which is nowhere near “a man anywhere from 80 to 120 year (by the way there should be “s” at the end of this word) of age”. But, I guess you don’t have use of nor respect to elderly, since you describe his walking towards you as “shuffling”. I only wish you would never get old.
Second, there is no “basement” presentation at the MWH. There is ground floor presentation, which has different meaning in English language to that of a “basement”. I guess you would not care about this either, since your style of writing and spelling errors speak for themselves.
Third, Mr. Konvalinka is from Austria, and not from “Russia”. Again, you should have paid more attention in geography class, then you would know that Austria is not “eastern Europe”.
Would you like more? Well, Mr. Konvalinka’s wife is not “long departed”, she is alive and doing very well. Ignorance on your part does not have any limits, does it? Mr. Konvalinka does not have any sons, either. So, your beautiful comparison of two gentlemen in the picture, describing them as “the body doubles for the 1980 USSR gymnastics team” is as good as nothing.
As you can see, your ignorance in writing this story has made you a fou, and is giving wrong information about people, their lives and business. While I admire your desire to be well known travel journalist or writer, I believe that you should get your facts before you write a story like this. Those are only some facts that have been misrepresented in your story of June 11, 2003 “The Scary Side of Maine”.
Once again, I insist that you remove, or at least correct your article.
Sincerely,
Not a fan of your article.
While I appreciate the compliment, I would hardly call this piece journalism. I would say that I was definately ignorant of the familial relationships of Mr. Konvalinka, I can't really be blamed, walking into a house, having a strange, wizened old man walk up to you, barely talk to you at all and then vanish kind of leads you down a trail of speculation. Imagine, I know mere paragraphs about the house, I am only allowed in this one claustraphobic hallway, and I see tons of pictures on the wall. Am I not supposed to speculate? And let me clarify one thing for you peace of mind, by the term "faux-furniture" I was referring to the fact, that music machines were made to appear to be some normal piece of furniture, when in reality they were something else entirely, not that they were reproducitons, even though I'm not really sure how one could reproductions out of "faux-furniture".
And Mr. Henderson, I appreciate your desire to communicate the facts about your collection and its significance. I'm sure that people interested in your field place great significance. But understand that as someone coming to your collection as a tourist not specifically visiting your collection but rather the town of Wiscasset, understand that the presentation of the house as far as I saw it was not above the charge of kitschy and bizaare.
To those who are concerned with my lack of respect. I'm sorry for any offense to your passions that I may have caused. My intention is not to belittle what you value, rather to appreciate the humor in the presentation of a museum that seems to teeter between museum for the public and private collection of the personal.
As for the origin of the Konvalinka. While it is certainly not my place to dispute the assertion that Mr. Konvalinka is from Austria, his name is not, Konvalinka is a Czech name, the Czech people haven't been a part of a country called Austria for almost 100 years. My point is that my "Eastern European Origin" assumption, while wrong, was not without merit.
Posted by: matt at February 11, 2004 01:33 PMMatt I think you're cool and way cooler than Mr. "A" whoever that is.
Posted by: JosiahQ at February 11, 2004 04:10 PMMatt, I won’t bother with correcting you in regards to Mr. Konvalinka’s heritage or family since Dung, Roger and A have already addressed those issues admirably. Instead, I shall get directly to the point: from your manner of writing and your idiotic comments it is plainly obvious you are equipped with the intellect of a door stop, and are probably one with purple hair and a chicken bone through your ear (which may have been inserted a trifle too far). Perhaps the Musical Wonder House did not appeal to you because you aren’t intelligent or cultured enough to comprehend or appreciate what is certainly the world’s finest collection of hundreds of absolutely one-of-a-kind music boxes. If your idea of “music” is five 19 year olds connected to amplifiers turned up to post distortion levels, clearly such an incredible collection of priceless instruments is beyond your capability to understand, let alone enjoy. Too bad! You could learn a lot. It is indeed a pity that you didn’t see and HEAR the fabulous machines in one of the ground floor (not basement) rooms in the MWH. Had you ventured a bit further, you would have been exposed to an astonishing visual and auditory experience that would have made you regret most or all of your previous adjectives. What you saw in the vestibule of the house was nothing to compare with what you did NOT see; as for Mr. Konvalinka’s fees they are more than reasonable, and every cent is used to help in the cost of repair, restoration and maintenance of the instruments. To characterize anything in the museum, even in the entrance hall area, as sounding like a xylophone serves as conclusive evidence you have wooden ears. What irks me most are your mean comments about Danilo Konvalinka. I won’t go so far as “A” in wishing that you not reach his age, but I hope you will reach that point in life and by that time will have matured and hopefully will not have to contend with the effects of a stroke. Danilo is a dear, kindhearted gentleman in every sense of the word, and you missed one of life’s rarest opportunities by passing up the tour of his incredible collection.
Posted by: R - the whiskerator from Georgia at February 12, 2004 12:38 AMOkay, so, I'm not an elegant linguist like R is nor am I the journalistic extraordinaire that Matty is, but I know an ad hominem when I see one. Unfortunately I, unlike Matt, am certainly not above opprobrium and I can sling with the best of them. With that said...
I find it highly entertaining in that bumfuzzling farcical manner when cultural sycophants attempt normal discourse with people who are not "in the know." Generally speaking, they tend to enjoy lording their idiosyncratic proclivities over those whom they consider donkeyish. Matt, my advice to you is don't let the man hold you down (though I think you're snobbish too). To the naysayers, why not try taking your heads out of your poop holes so you can see where you're shoveling your fecal matter?
Posted by: jared at February 12, 2004 01:25 AMThis list of critiques of Wiscasset's Music Wonder House may be amusing in its rude and vulgarness to many but not to anyone of intelligence. It maybe a spoof but to redicule another human being is beond intelligent. When two wet behind the ears asses(donkey asses who were to cheap to pay a minimal fee to see a world renown collection of Music Boxes and and some extrodinary pieces of Authentic Furniture is apalling: And further, to have a trite and banal mommie and daddie praise such bogus observations as an acceptible out pouring of "journalism" is the epitomy of nouveau riche classlessness. We are all equal. We all have faults. But the Music Wonder House has none and knows no equal. Mr K. May not appeal to everyone but to besmirch him is one of the worst juvenial behaviors I have suffered in print. Having been envolved with teenagers for forty years young men do not always mature out of their 15th year: and to verbally masturbate is unacceptable. For in every coming in touch with culture and people we needs be open to growth and these cheap young imature men certainly gained no growth. And God alone knows what home life must have been: cartoons computers and Bevis & ButtHead? Seems most likely for mommie and daddie as well! and most other other attempts fall short of securing any strength of showing the Music Wonder House Museum as it is: a fabulous collection of one man's endeavour. Praise for Mr K. is necessary When one has reached the pinacle of knwledge of one subject matter as Mr K. has. Let others scoff then! It is the mark he has a right to eccentrics and shuffling. Pay the price of a tour full or partial and have open eyes, open ears and Learn something that is truly magnifignat: MUSIC!
Posted by: grizz behr at February 12, 2004 06:58 PMNow I must say that I enjoy returning to my blog every evening to see what new words people have for me next. However it does strike me as ironic the manner in which these words come. In general, the "music machine believers" are taking personal offense at my original post because it reflects uninformed judgments on my part about the Musical Wonder House. In particular, you are indignant about my "critical" statements based on sparse contanct with what you would descrbe as the meat of the Musical Wonder House experience.
The irony comes in the vitriol of your most recent posts. In general the "music machine believers" are making broad generalizations (that are much more negative with my own original) with minimal contact with the meat of me.
Now you could be doing this for two reasons. One you are quite dumb, and your anger has blinded you to the hipocrisy of your behavior.
Or two, you are quite intellegint, and sneaky, as a goup of "music machine believers" you have decided that the best way to teach this cretin (me) a lesson, is to give him a dose of his own snap judgments, and hasty generalizations, teaching the proverbial whipper-snapper a lesson. For your sake, I hope it is the second.
But granted that you are just trying to teach me a lesson in a smart, sneaky, and well-thought-out way. Are you well thought out enough? I don't think so. This is a blog, an online journal, my piece which you as a community of "music machine believers" see as so much excrement is a journal. now granted it is online, and fully googlable, and I haven't completely worked out the implication of that out yet. But in any case, it is not really fair to hold me to a journalistic standard, and treat me accordingly.
Posted by: matt at February 12, 2004 11:10 PMAlright, lets get a few things straight. To all the sorry, single fiftty-somthings who have nothing better to do with their time than critique people they don't even know, may I remind you to put your dentures back in the orifice where they belong: your trash-talking, mealy mouths. My man Matt stated his opinion of an experience, you hunt him up on the internet, and then hate on him in a desparate attempt to compensate for you lack of a life, social or otherwise. The fact that you talk trash to people you've never even seen or talked to before shows that you are a lot of weak, spineless cowards. Try pulling this business in real life, rather than over the internet, and I'd swell one of your eyes up, or knock your dentures down your throats. To those who think I am kidding, I'm not; you talk to my friends like that, and you may as well have said it to me. As for your so-called musical assessments, plaease believe that I've already disreguarded them, and that you have no idea of what I listen to. Quit wasting your time, and mine. You're going to provoke the wrong person one day.
Matt, I love you man, and I appreciate you exercising your right to Freedom of speech/opinion. Take care, bro.
John-Michael
Ok I'm confused. How in the HELL is anything that Matt said disrespectful of either the museum or its owner/curator or whatver you want to call him. He was merely decribing his experience. In no way is anything he says a demeaning value judgment of this hobby- actually I have a hard time finding any kind of value judgement, demeaning or otherwise Besides, even if he did he has the right to express his opinion just as you have the right to ignore his blog.
You lable him immature and discount everything he says but do so by calling him names. Whose imature here? By the way nice ad hominem attack. Matt would destroy you in an intellectual debate. I know this because everything you say about him is opposite to the truth. Your ability to interpret writing is appaling.
But I doubt my post has any significance in the grand sceme of things so I'll stoop down and play by your rules: I'll agree that Matt should get the ficticious chicken bone out of his nose when you get your finger out of your ass (my sincere apologies for anyone offended by my crassness, but to indulge in triteness "when in Rome").
Posted by: zach at February 13, 2004 01:22 AMMatt, why just two reasons? I can think of a couple more and I'll even give pertinent examples! In fact, the following will be as empirically objective and philosophically rigorous as I can make it without being wordy or exhaustive.
1. Lack of self-actualization - The "music machine believers", as you call them, seem to possess an uncanny inabilty to engage in discourse without committing some informal fallacy (see next point, et al). The only observable evidence points to an extremely focused "education" which appears to be disconnected with the rest of what is commonly understood to be intelligent knowledge (epistemological problems aside).
2. Lack of logical fluency - Mr. Behr and his predecessors give us excellent examples of several logical fallacies (spelling and grammer in quotes has not been altered):
2a. Ad Hominem (Abusive) - "you are equiped with the intellect of a door stop" -R the whiskerator; "Work that shows how big an IDIOT you are, well, more like a MORON." -A; "For many a visit to this unique and well respected collection is an incredible experience; for others [implied 'you'] a stop at Funtown or the Waterslide in Scarboro might be more appropriate, or even a visit to the local McDonalds with it's attached playground." -Roger
2b. Hasty Generalization - "I guess you would not care about this either, since your style of writing and spelling errors speak for themselves." -A; "Perhaps the Musical Wonder House did not appeal to you because you aren’t intelligent or cultured enough to comprehend or appreciate what is certainly the world’s finest collection of hundreds of absolutely one-of-a-kind music boxes." - R the whiskerator; "We are all equal. We all have faults. But the Music Wonder House has none and knows no equal." -grizz behr
2c. Special Pleading - "It maybe a spoof but to redicule another human being is beond intelligent. When two wet behind the ears asses(donkey asses who were to cheap to pay a minimal fee to see a world renown collection of Music Boxes and and some extrodinary pieces of Authentic Furniture" -grizz behr; "Later [ed. latter] was of the most interest to me."... "But, I guess you don’t have use of nor respect to elderly, since you describe his walking towards you as “shuffling”. ..."since your style of writing and spelling errors speak for themselves." -A
2d. Red Herring - "And God alone knows what home life must have been: cartoons computers and Bevis & ButtHead? Seems most likely for mommie and daddie as well!" -grizz behr; "Roger's February 10 post reminded me why so many folks find New Englanders frequently so annoying. Awkward attempts at class consciousness by people who have none are unseemly." -SK
I'm sure I could pick out more but I have a test in Doctrine 2 tomorrow afternoon and I still need to read some Plantinga for Philosophy of Religion...
Posted by: jared at February 13, 2004 01:38 AMI want to believe that the population of the world does not contain people who are this incredibly stupid. I want to believe that behind the masks of 'A' or 'the whiskerator' (what the hell is a whiskerator anyways?) lurk people who actually know Matt and therefore are simply trying to have a good laugh.
However, it would appear that the simple truth is that the aforementioned 'A' and the renowned 'whiskerator' of Georgain fame, and even 'grizz behr' are not fooling around. They are in fact serious and for some strange and completely ridiculous reason, they were offended by something Matt originally wrote. Of course, their response is not in any way a rational one. Quite the opposite in fact. They manage (as Matt and Jared point out) to commit the exact same crime that they are accusing Matt of, only much worse so (purple hair? chickenbone earring? mommie and daddie? I'm sorry, did I go back to pre-school again?). For crying out loud people, if you want to insult the man, at least do so in a somewhat intelligent manner. As it is, all you've managed to do is convince me that the concept of a music box museum is quite possibly the worst exhibitionary idea I've ever heard of.
Oh yeah, one more thing:
"Pay the price of a tour full or partial and have open eyes, open ears and Learn something that is truly magnifignat: MUSIC! "
With spelling and grammar errors aside, this statement is atrocious. If you honestly think that one can 'learn MUSIC' by taking a tour of The Musical Wonder House, I pity you. When people want to learn about music they either take music classes or go to concerts. They don't go to Beethoven's house and look at his piano. They don't swing by Bach's place to check out his clavichord. Go listen to some live music sometime...it'll do you some good.
Posted by: steele at February 13, 2004 02:29 AMThe guy is an expert in music boxes? Impressive, I guess, but that's like being an expert in say, computer keyboards or something. Its got history, its got functionality, and somewhere a 12 year old (female for the first, male for the second) is really attached to one, but that doesn't mean it necessarily has:
a. value
b. relevance
Of course, I'm not "in the know." And I'm fairly certain this whiz-band music house is a real treat. But keying off Steele, a museum is no substitute for the real thing.
Feathers. Up Butt. Not Chicken.
Posted by: JosiahQ at February 13, 2004 08:26 AMTo clarify, their hobby, and appreciation is not really directed towards music boxes. They're more interested in music machines I only say this so they won't have another petty reason to insult us all for being young punks.
Posted by: matt at February 13, 2004 09:01 AMWhen I was a young whippersnapper, I had a vinyl album called "The Marvelous Music Machine." It was a very nice album, quite catchy, and it gave me many hours of delight. Why are you mocking my childhood, Matt? Why do you show such disrespect for people older than you? Why can't you be a respectable member of society, instead of frittering your time away with Africans?
Ahem. Sorry. Done now.
But who are these people? How did they, en masse, find this blog? How did they decide, in unison, that the word "shuffling" was a sign of contempt? Who, pray tell, pissed in their yogurt?
Posted by: mesh at February 13, 2004 09:21 AMI once had Yogurt. It was mmm mmm good.
You know, I wonder if these people are what today's hard-core D&D and "con" people are gonna grow up to become.
Posted by: JosiahQ at February 13, 2004 09:53 AMyeah I had and probably still have two albums entitled "The Music Machine" and "The Music Machine 2" except they were probably different than your copies. Mine were about how we should be nice to each other. Ah childhood memories.
Posted by: zach at February 13, 2004 11:14 AMAll together now "Music machine, music machine, like no other gadget that you've ever seen. Whatever you want, to sing about, put something in it and a song comes out."
That was a nice album, though I always thought that there was some sort of psychadelic undertones. Maybe it's just me, though.
I never knew people could get so worked up over something like antique music machines
Posted by: kathryn at February 14, 2004 01:21 AMWhat a big messy argument.
I'll just say that I love visiting Wiscassett. Very pretty. I like walking out to that tiny island across the tracks.
Nice wildflowers.
Posted by: Nat at February 19, 2004 11:31 AMYeah, Wiscassett was maybe my favorite place that I visited in Maine. I liked the road to Mount Desert Isle a lot too.
Posted by: matt at February 19, 2004 01:24 PMYes, Wiscasset IS a lovely village. In it's day it had many of the fine points and advantages of the larger "city" type towns. Due to 20th century zoning....something the "older people" with an interest in preservation deal with....much of the town retains the feeling of its earlier cultures. That is what makes it have that storybook feeling when tourists and non-residents happen through the streets and walkways. It is always wonderful when new generations find something that has always been there and a way to appreciate it. Matt, it seems that you were on a questor exploration of some sort and discovered Wiscasset and the Musical Wonder House, Mr. Lewis's Nonesuch House and other items of interest. You expressed your opinions in a "blog" which I assume is a "free stream of thought" journal entry of some sort. I'm not very aware of this type of writing, but understand that some of us have a need to write and express our ideas and thoughts in a creative manner. It is a wonderful thing to be creative and to express oneself. Too bad you didn't try "spell check" when you were done. Some of the critics would have perhaps concentrated on your thoughts instead of poor grammar and spelling. That aside....the following entries were made by caring people. It is too bad that your entry wasn't considered a bit more before you made judgements. There IS a difference between "I wonder if" and "fact". (Your "wonderings" were interesting).....As I read your entry....I applauded your effort to be creative, but felt badly when you failed to back your findings with facts. Personal opinion and fact are not the same and it appears that those "fifty somethings" that stumbled onto your blog knew the difference. You ruffled feathers and hurt the feelings of some people you've never met. I suspect you were simply trying to air your "discovery" in a creative way and not launch a site of "us against them". Mr. Konvalinka is a very well known personality ....in his field!..and many people DO collect and buy music boxes..EXPENSIVE antique ones!....Tourists from all over the world know of him and make travel plans, just to meet him! He also conducts bus tours each season and has pleasured thousands of people a year with his unusual collection of mechanical musical boxes, pianos, etc. He came to this country from war torn Austria and survived both Nazi occupation that of the Allied troups who forced the Nazis out, in an attempt to free that country. Many of us can only imagine what that was all about. What the inhabitants of that small country suffered through and did without! What small amount of his collection that you witnessed and shared was indeed, in an of itself, a miracle. I don't believe that you quite grasped or understood that a simple man, a foreigner with none of the "rights" we as citizens were born with....began a business which flourished and became the Wonder House!...IN Wiscasset...IN Maine! He began with nothing that you saw (or didn't see!). He repaired the musical boxes of others and bought his own (in poor condition) and spent years restoring, repairing and acquiring all that is now represented in that house on High Street in Wiscasset. It is wonderful that you stumbled onto his home and collection. You got a chance to see and hear....even in just that $2.00 hallway experience....items that many don't even know exist and other only read about. Perhaps his sign proclaiming his private collection and home "a museum" is a misnomer. He does not receive any funding from the town, state or federal government to make that collection available for the public to see. Charging an admission and giving personal presentations IS part of how he pays to keep the collection together. The electric bill alone is staggering! It IS good that you saw what you did. I can only imagine that the collection of old world mechanical musical delights, antique furniture, antique carpets, portraits of unknown people (to the guests who don't strike up a conversation with Mr. Konvalinka or the guide that greets them),Austrian crystal chandeliers and a grand "flying staircase". His collection and tours don't stop dead when the electricity goes out during a summer storm. What museum can boast that? His collection is mechanical and by lighting lanterns and candles, the presentations always continue! His collection is that of a past generation...even before his time! Thousands of people return again and again to visit his home, visit with him and to share those music boxes and mechanical items. I suspect it was all just something new to you. New experiences are good. What you witnesses was a new culture to you. "Culture" is different for each generation. "Refinement" is also different. Each generation should be respectful of the other's. It is easy to make fun of that which is unknown to us. It is far better to ask questions and reserve judgement type opinions until facts are available. Those who replied, in haste, to your "blog" were hurt by your own hasty comments. In return, they were hasty with their own comments. Your own personal sense of culture, I'm sure is "refined" in its own way....that is..when you are in the same context and amongst those of whom you respect and respect you. That, to other generations is something not understood and often mis-understood.....much like you yourself did to them!
All I can say, is that you are well endowed with a sense of and a need of exploration as well as an ability to express your thoughts. Hopefully you will contiune to grow and think during your future wanderings and not trip over "opinion and fact" again. When you have future explorations...ask questions. Talk to the curators, the docents, the owners. Bear in mind that sometimes the guide that greets you....doesn't understand YOUR culture! Be patient and speak to them. If you don't know what to say, just smile and tell them their collection is unusual!....you may be surprised by a pleasant dialogue. Understanding is wonderful tool when you wish to be creative in your writing. Good luck! I hope your next "blog" gets many positive feedbacks.
I've only had the occasion to step into the hallway briefly of the Music house, but what a grand experience to take in! Too bad you didnt' come a little later in the year to experience the History & HAUNTS of Wiscasset Walking Tour! There you can meet the past and see how it fits with the present of this enchanting village!
Posted by: History & Haunts of Wiscasset at April 9, 2004 01:51 PMInteresting perspective from a person who doesn't appear to appreciate antiquities. Since most adults have the maturity to form their opinions based on their experiences rather than viewing the world thru the eyes of others there is no real harm done. One persons opinion hardly presents the basis for a personal affront. It's just one more piece of input in the scheme of things to be considered and then rejected.
Posted by: Bob at November 11, 2004 03:03 PM